CONGRATULATIONS ON THE JOB YOU DID. WISH ALL OWNERS COULD SEE THIS. DO YOU THINK THEY WILL GET THE HINT THAT THEY NEED TO THINK BEFORE THEY PICK UP A CUTE KITTEN/PUPPY IN A STORE PARKING LOT. ARE THEY REALLY READY TO TAKE ON THIS RESPONSIBILITY AND OBLIGATION TO THIS TRUSTING CREATURE. COURSE, MANY SHOULD THINK BEFORE THEY HAVE CHILDREN. SAME RESPONSIBILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS. ---- Chris <[email protected]> wrote: > I am a "remote" volunteer for a shelter near New Orleans--a shelter that ran > without power or inside water for 18 months post Katrina. Yet with a lot of > work, a tiny, very committed staff, very little money, we managed to keep > the euthanasia rate down to below 15%. There were several keys--not the > least of which was that we did massive publicity (on internet & local > papers) for every animal from the moment they came into the shelter. We had > a decent rate of return on strays & established a nationwide network of > fosters & adopters & small rescues. We could tell you what happened to each > & every animal that was flown out & we publicized those outcomes. Animals > who went to breed rescues were vetted, s/n, & hw treated if needed. We > learned a lot of lessons the hard way & I can not only tell you the > successes but the ones we missed... We didn't do big transports but sent > out one or two animals at a time to selected fosters, pre screened adopters, > small rescues. Cats were the hardest of all & we needed to do a whole lot > better for them. We had no "secrets"--every animal that came in was photo > listed & the director didn't worry that someone was going to ask about an > animal that ultimately had to be euthanized. We got equipment for a surgery > room donated & managed to do low cost s/n for community pets & s/n treatment > for the shelter animals. > > Sadly, a new director came in & it all fell apart. Our approach was very > non-traditional way & we had a core of very hard working volunteers > scattered all over the country. That level of involvement was a lot more > than most shelter directors can handle... > > But throughout our work, I can remember railing at all those pups & kittens > that came in without moms, all those pregnant moms who came in cause they > "accidentally" got pregnant, all those pets that suddenly became > "inconvenient" and on and on. Working in a municipal open admission shelter > is one of the hardest jobs in the world & we reward those workers with > little pay and lots of finger pointing. > > Christiane Biagi > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kim > Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 9:03 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues > > Very well said! Unfortunately, very true here in VA, too. And, also, > unfortunately, very sad. I also have a big problem with owner surrenders > and owners who see no need to spay and neuter their pets and let them have > litter after litter to become someone else's problem because the owners take > no responsibility. Kitten season is heartbreaking to me! > > "...Saving just one pet won't change the world....but surely the world will > change for that one pet..." > > The top ten reasons to spay and neuter your dog or cat were killed in a > shelter today. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of LauraM > Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 8:15 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues > > > I have actually had rescues ask me - or our shelter's volunteers - to pay > (out of our own pockets) to alter and combo-test cats before they take them. > Do they reimburse us? Of course not. We finally told one rescue that we were > not wealthy people and we just couldn't do it. They will not pull from us > unless we pay to have the cats vetted, then they sell those cats for $150 > and pocket every dime. Now that's a crappy rescue. There are some baaaaad > shelters here in GA. I won't mention any names, but there are several I've > heard of that IMMEDIATELY take owner surrendered animals to the back and put > them down. Those pets never even get a chance to be adopted. It may be > different in other areas of the country, but most GA shelters have high > euthanasia rates relative to adoption rates. There are no no-kill county > shelters in GA; to label a shelter as "bad" because they are forced to > euthanize is just unfair. Nobody wants to do it; everyone is miserable and > snippy and cranky on euthanasia day, even the ones who have to take > antidepressants as a result. We only euthanize one day a week, our director > puts down as few animals as possible, and some days we've been back at > capacity by the end of the day, the turn-ins are so bad. Intakes are high - > several times we've had 30 or so owner-surrendered animals come in within > just a couple of hours. Adoptions are slow, nobody wants cats or larger > dogs, only small dogs, puppies and sometimes kittens (mostly at > Christmas). Just today we had 8 cats turned in - one is diabetic and was > surrendered because the owner didn't want to pay for insulin shots. > Pathetic. She just kept screaming at me, "I can't afford to take her to the > vet! I can't pay for it!" I charged her a $40 euthanasia fee - we will try > to get that cat out of there, but that owner needed to pay for something. > One day somebody turned in 15 cats because they were moving. It's so > discouraging, they keep coming in and coming in, and we've been getting > pregnant cats and kittens like crazy over the past 2 months, and this kitten > season will be a bloodbath. This is the time of year when I have to imagine > a zipper over my mouth because I get so fed up with these people, nasty > stuff just slips on out. > Our director will not euthanize cats with FeLV and FIV. We adopt them out. > He knows that I have cats with both and he knows that they can have a great > quality of life. Sorry for venting, I just get tired of being told - from > both the public and from people in rescue - that "you kill animals there." > If they have a solution for dealing with all the so-called strays and owner > surrenders and accidental litters, we would be happy to hear about it. > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
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